A poll on Experiate last week questioned the designation of ‘industry’ for the digital out of home ideaspace. I quote:

Do we see ourselves as a unique and growing industry with a specific architecture (rules, regulations, trade shows, organizations) that works in tandem with other forms of communication, like our TV at home, computers, and iPhones?

Or do we see ourselves as an application inside a multi-channel communication culture with standards and practices that we should adopt?

The results thus far (from a fairly limited sample set of 47 votes) favor the latter, but only marginally.

David Weinfeld offers his insight on the close tallies:
“Digital signage is an industry, in and of itself; and digital signage is not an industry… Approaching digital signage from the technology side of the equation, it most certainly is an independent sector. [Yet]… When framing digital signage within the world of media, it is but a piece of a much larger ecosystem. In the same way that the word “mobile” will cease to have meaning in an increasingly untethered world, so too will digital signage meld into a world of free flowing media.”

I have to agree with David here… a “yes to both” is really the only way to make sure the relationship among media in the current climate (DS included) is properly represented. The main takeaway here is far less about the semantic designation and far more about developing an evolving set of best practices that both define DS conceptually within the mediascape, while also respecting the unique technical and UX demands required for successful deployment.

Cast your vote here.
It may be time to rally for a write-in option…

So apparently LocaModa CEO Stephen Randall took some time away from karaoke and Beatles cover bands during his recent trip to Japan to stand up as a thought leader in place based social media…

Members of the LocaModa sales and creative teams are on-site at the Waterfront Westin for The Ad Club’s Branded in Boston event.

Say hello to Steve, Greg, Gabi, and Dan if you see them!

I’ll let these pics from last night speak for themselves, mainly because I’m battling intermittent Acela wifi…

But as a quick recap, LocaModa is coming home with a win in the “Best Integration with Traditional Media” category at the MediaPost Digital Out-of-Home Awards last night. After the awards ceremony, the Loca team hauled over to Madison Square Garden to check out the end of the 3-Venue Swarm Event, which was a resounding success (and I picked up a swarm badge of my own)! It was awesome to see Loca’s place-based social media platform on the jumbotron in MSG, along with a dozen other flat screens in the VIP Lounge area. We also got a chance to head down to the Garden (ahem, the OTHER Garden) floor and throw down a few fake lay-ups.

Many thanks to our friends at MEC, Federated, and MSG Entertainment for a great night!

LocaModa is thrilled to announce our expanded partnership with RMG Networks, with whom we’ve worked closely over the past few years. We’ve taken our relationship to a new level, and Loca’s place-based social media platform will now be powering the real-time interactive content on their NYTimes.com Today Network.

It’s a true win-win on both sides, and we’re excited to continue progressing our relationship!

[Full press release]